Governor Bago of Niger State drops His Excellency title in exchange for Farmer Governor

GOVERNOR Mohammed Bago of Niger State dropped the title His Excellency and controversially adopted the designation of farmer governor as part of a plan to emphasise the importance his administration pays to agriculture.

Revealing the change yesterday while presenting his 2024 budget to the Niger State House of Assembly, the governor said that change was needed to reinforce the priority of the government on agriculture. Governor Bago stated that he should no longer be called Excellency or Honourable or Mr Governor but Farmer Governor.

He added: “I want to inform the people of Niger state that from today, my nomenclature has changed and I wish to be addressed as Farmer Governor Bago from henceforth.”

Governor Bago, who wore a T-shirt and a trouser during the presentation, however, said that he has not banned the wearing of agbada by civil servants as carried by some media organisations. He explained that he only emphasized the need for civil servants working in the ministries of works, agriculture or other ministries that require physical functioning to dress in outfits that would enable them function properly.

In addition, the governor also converted the state trade fair complex in Minna into a multipurpose complex for sports and recreation. As part of this process he renamed it the Bola Tinubu Square.